Garmin has posted a short video on its Twitter account that appears to be teasing the launch of the long-awaited Garmin Instinct Crossover.
In the snippet, which you can watch below, a crowd of clean-shaven men in suits are walking one way along a street, when suddenly a man with stubble and a hoodie under a tan-colored wool coat appears striding the opposite way. This is followed by an 'X' on a black screen, and the date 11/8/22.
He's outdoorsy yet urban, and he's no doubt sporting a chunky watch with a digital display and physical hands.
Coming t̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ soon. pic.twitter.com/UrPHqFtFJsNovember 2, 2022
Sharp-eyed Ivan Jovin at Gadgets & Wearables, who spotted the teaser, expressed surprise that Garmin would launch a watch on the same day as voting for the US midterm elections. However, Garmin usually releases hardware on Tuesdays, and doesn't typically launch products after November. With Thanksgiving and Black Friday fast approaching, there are few other dates available.
What is the Instinct Crossover?
We got our first hint about the Instinct Crossover back in April, when an authorized Garmin dealer leaked warranty information for a list of devices, including several that had yet to be announced. One of the most interesting watches on the list was the Garmin Instinct Analog, which we suspected was likely to be a hybrid device, not entirely unlike watches in the Garmin Vivomove series.
Things were quiet for several months, until a report appeared on the website of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), showing that a certain hybrid Garmin device had been approved for sale. It wasn't named, but illustrations in the testing section of the documentation showed a watch that looked exactly like a Garmin Instinct 2, but with hands.
Then, last month, Garmin itself accidentally leaked the official name of the device, along with a whole host of specifications. The company's Taiwanese website prematurely posted a listing page for the Instinct Crossover. This was swiftly pulled, but not before being cached by Google.
I'm not fluent in Taiwanese, but running the page through Google Translate revealed that the new watch will be seriously rugged, with a double-layer case and proprietary tech that will prevent the hands moving out of position even when given a solid whack. The page also revealed that the Instinct Crossover will have a battery life of 28 days in smartwatch mode, 25 hours in GPS mode, and 71 days in battery saver mode.
What Garmin's Singaporean page didn't reveal, however, is exactly what the new watch will look like. For that, it looks like we'll have to wait until next Tuesday.
- The best Garmin watches: find your ideal training tool, whatever your sport
